Tito Ortiz Ends His Legendary Career with a Loss at UFC 148

Tito Ortiz retired from professional MMA following his decision loss to Forrest Griffin in the UFC 148 co-main event last night.

It was the third time Ortiz and Griffin fought each other, and each fight has been extremely close. The fights were split one apiece heading into last night, so both fighters knew they were battling to close out the trilogy.

The third fight was also close, and both aging fighters were apparently gassed hard in the second and third rounds.

It was an extremely sloppy fight.

The third fight “was the slowest and sloppiest of the three they’ve had,” UFC President Dana White told Bleacher Report following the press conference.

Even so, it was enough for both fighters to collect a $75,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus, announced during the post-fight press conference.

I went out on my shield as true warriors do. I wasn’t looking to score the fight. I was looking to finish the fight. I thought I dropped him a few times. I took him down to the ground. Forrest was pitter-pattering. I have no respect for his punching. He threw punches, and nothing hurt.

Strangely, Griffin quickly escaped the cage after the fight, only to be ushered back into the cage by White. Instead of having Joe Rogan interview Ortiz, Griffin mysteriously decided to take the microphone and host an impromptu interview with Ortiz.

Both White and Ortiz were rather displeased with Griffin’s antics, and it’s uncertain if Griffin will be punished.

“I feel really bad that I took Tito’s mic from Joe. I apologize for that; I was in a weird mindset,” Griffin said during the post-fight press conference.

Weird behavior and sloppy fight aside, Ortiz will be able to look at his historic MMA career with pride. He ends his run with a 17-11-1 record and has fought some of the toughest fighters across several generations of the sport.

The former light-heavyweight champion was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, and remains one of the most popular—and polarizing—fighters ever to fight inside the UFC Octagon.